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Old-Fashioned Ambrosia Salad

G By Our Grannies' Kitchen Updated Jul 2026 4.8 (234 ratings)
Old-Fashioned Ambrosia Salad
Old-Fashioned Ambrosia Salad
4.8 / 5
8 servings

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Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

  • 350 g drained mandarin segments (2 × 300 g tins)
  • 260 g drained pineapple chunks (1 × 435 g tin)
  • 3 cups (150 g) mini marshmallows
  • 75 g sweetened shredded or shredded coconut
  • 100 g glacé or maraschino cherries, halved & patted dry
  • ¾ cup (200 ml) heavy cream, well chilled
  • ⅔ cup (150 g) sour cream
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar & ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

  1. Drain. Tip the mandarins and pineapple into a colander and leave them a good 20 minutes, shaking now and then. Spread on paper towels and pat dry; halve the cherries and pat those dry too. Dry fruit is the whole game.
  2. Whip. Whip the chilled heavy cream with the granulated sugar and vanilla to soft, floppy peaks — not stiff. Fold in the sour cream until smooth.
  3. Fold. Gently fold in the marshmallows and coconut, then the pineapple and cherries, and the mandarins last of all — they break if you bully them. Big spoon, few strokes.
  4. Chill. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours (up to 24) so the marshmallows soften and the flavors marry. One gentle stir, a few cherries and a scatter of coconut on top, and serve cold.
Granny's tip

Granny set the colander of fruit dripping over a bowl before church and dressed the salad when she got home — twenty lazy minutes of draining is what keeps ambrosia thick. Short on time? Paper towels and a gentle press do the same job in five.

Tips for proper ambrosia

Drain like you mean it

Twenty minutes in a colander, then a pat-down on paper towels. Nearly every watery ambrosia can be traced back to fruit that went in wet.

The sour cream secret

Whipped cream alone turns cloying against all that sweet fruit and marshmallow. The sour cream adds a gentle tang that keeps every spoonful fresh.

Two hours in the fridge

The chill softens the marshmallows to pillows and lets the flavors knit. Made 2–24 hours ahead it is at its very best.

Questions, answered

Why is my ambrosia salad watery?

Almost always because the canned fruit went in wet. Drain the mandarins and pineapple in a colander for a full 20 minutes, then pat dry on paper towels, and pat the cherries dry too. The sugar in the dressing also draws juice out of the fruit as it sits, so serve within 24 hours of making.

Can I make ambrosia salad ahead of time?

Yes — it actually needs at least 2 hours in the fridge for the marshmallows to soften, and it is at its best made 2 to 24 hours ahead. Beyond 24 hours the fruit starts weeping juice and the coconut loses its chew. Do not freeze it: the cream splits and the fruit turns mushy as it thaws.

Can I use fresh fruit instead of canned?

Fresh orange or satsuma segments work beautifully — remove any pith and pat them dry. Be careful with fresh pineapple, though: it contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down dairy and will turn the cream thin and bitter within hours. Use canned pineapple, which is heat-treated, or briefly simmer fresh chunks and cool them first.

What was the original Victorian ambrosia?

Just two ingredients: fresh orange slices layered with freshly grated coconut and a little sugar, sometimes with a spoonful of sherry, first appearing in Southern cookbooks in the 1860s. The pineapple, cherries, marshmallows and cream all arrived in the twentieth century — some families still serve only the orange-and-coconut original.

From Granny's Pantry

The know-how behind this recipe:

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